The Services for Attorneys and Legal Researchers and Services for All Patrons sections, pp.
3-4, describe research services and sources available at the LRB. Part III, Legal Services,
which sets forth the bill drafting services available to legislators, provides insights into the
drafting process. (For more detail, see Wisconsin Bill Drafting Manual, infra.).

"...contains an index to, and actual text of, every provision of the U.S. Constitution, the
Wisconsin Constitution, and the 1977 Wisconsin Statutes, which addresses itself to the authority
and functions of the Wisconsin Legislature."--From the Foreward. Somewhat outdated but a still
valuable compilation.

Essays derived from the James Carpenter Lectures delivered at Columbia University Law School.
Professor Hurst taught a popular legislation course at the University of Wisconsin Law School
for many years. In Chapter, 2, "The Interpretation of Statutes," Professor Hurst discusses the
willingness of courts to look outside statute books for evidence of legislative intent and the
weight given to various kinds of materials and actions.

The Ground Rules of a Special Session. Prepared by Clark G. Radatz and Daniel
F. Ritsche. Madison: Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau, 1996. 21 p. Location: Wis. Doc. LEG 2.3:IB/1996/8
Gives an overview of the organization and procedures currently used in special sessions of the
Wisconsin Legislature.

Gives examples of material inside and outside the LRB drafting file that have been referenced in
Wisconsin appellate court decisions. Concludes with a case history of a law with documentary
exhibits.

Laws Not Printed in the Statutes. By Mark C. Patronsky. Madison: Wisconsin
Legislative Council, 1978. 11 p. Location: Wis. Doc. LEG.3:IM/1978/38
How to find special, private, and local laws not printed in the statutes. Includes a discussion of
how bill drafters decide to include a law in the statutes or only publish it as a session law.

Legislative History: The Philosophies of Justices Scalia and Breyer and the Use
of Legislative History by the Wisconsin State Courts, by Kenneth R. Dortzbach.
80 Marquette Law Review 161-225 (1996-1997).

After an in-depth examination of Wisconsin Court of Appeals and Supreme Court opinons,
mostly from the previous decade, the author concludes: While the use of legislative history is
still commonly accepted in Wisconsin, state judges are increasingly resisting the temptation to
make long and winding ventures into legislative history, or they are at least more wary of the
pitfalls of such ventures. p. 218.

May be used in conjunction with the Bill Drafting Manual (infra.) for details about the bill
drafting process and the preparation of fiscal estimates, which must accompany bills that affect
the finances of Wisconsin state or local government.

Identifies four general categories of legislative intent assignments and then proceeds into a
detailed, step-by-step example. The author served as a research analyst for the Wisconsin
Legislative Reference Bureau.

This memorandum sets forth the reasons why drafters do not, as a general rule, draft statements
of intent, purpose or findings, the exceptional circumstances in which such statements may be
appropriate and the precepts that drafters should bear in mind when drafting statements in those
circumstances. p. 2.

The former Chief Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court outlines his take on the subject in a
presentation at a State Bar program. Most useful is the reprinting of Materials bearing on
legislative intent page from Wisconsin Appellate Practice Procedure, which he co-authored
along with George R. Currie.

Provides detailed, illustrated instructions. Although intended for the use of the Legislative
Reference Bureau's staff, this manual may aid the legislative history researcher in understanding
bill drafting standards, procedures, and records.